It also doesn't explain why Jews were prohibited from holy sites in Jerusalem after 1948.

It also doesn't consider the 700,000 to 800,000 Jewish refugees from Arab countries.

That was all Israel's fault.

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It also lies regarding the massacre of thousands of Palestinians.

It's a reasonably accurate and fair description of what happened. Perhaps it takes into account the numbers killed before the official start of the 1948 war. For example:

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According to Ilan Pappe, by January 1948, 400 Jewish settlers had been killed while attempting to maintain contact with isolated Zionist settlements established "in the heart of Palestinian [Arab] areas", while 1500 Arabs had been killed in the "random bombardments and shellings of their villages and neighbourhoods".[12] According to Yoav Gelber, by the end of March, there was a total of 2,000 dead and 4,000 wounded.[1]

Dusty, can you tell me why:
- When the Israeli government froze any construction work in the West Bank, responding to a pre condition by Abbas for negotiation, the Palestinians did not show up?
- when Nethanyahu openly and publicly accepted the concept of Two States for Two Peoples and called the Palestinians for negotiations, nobody showed up.
- When Barak offered Arafat all what he wanted, including East Jerusalem, but not the right of return, Arafat refused.

Add these to the Hamas behavior, and you will understand that the feeling in Israel is that the Palestinians will not settle for less than the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state. Add to this the fact that they have refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish State, and it will clarify their intentions even more.

I'd say a sterling record of simultaneously allowing continual attacks on any and all Israelis while convincing a number of westerners that they're in need of enhanced status means they already have it.

The Palestinian observer at the UN, Riyad Mansour, told reporters that the PA would neither immediately sign up for the ICC nor renounce its right to do so.

...

But Mansour said that if Israel continued to violate international law, in particular by continuing Jewish settlement construction in the occupied territories, then the Palestinians would have to consider "what should we do next to bring Israel into compliance?"

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during her talks in Israel this week not to take any extreme actions in response to the Palestinian move in the United Nations for recognition as a non-member state.

Am I right in thinking that if Palestine becomes a sovereign state , recognised by the UN, then if they continue to fire rockets into Israel then these actions would be seen as an act of war and would justify the IDF to really go to town

Every European country will now either vote in support of the Palestinians or abstain.

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In opposing the resolution, Israel is likely to find itself isolated with the United States, Canada, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and possibly the Czech Republic – although sources at the Foreign Ministry said Germany's decision would likely affect the Czech vote as well.

Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets throughout the West Bank and Gaza today to celebrate what they expect to be a United Nations General Assembly vote upgrading the PLO’s status from that of observer to that of non-member state.

Also, Hezbollah has warned Israel not to attack Lebanon.

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Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel on Sunday that thousands of rockets would rain down on Tel Aviv and cities across the country if it attacked Lebanon.

Speaking four days after the cease-fire which ended a week of conflict between Israel and the Islamist Hamas rulers of Gaza, Nasrallah said Hezbollah's response to any attack would dwarf the rocket fire launched from Palestinian territories.

Am I right in thinking that if Palestine becomes a sovereign state , recognised by the UN, then if they continue to fire rockets into Israel then these actions would be seen as an act of war and would justify the IDF to really go to town

As it is, the Palestinians are an occupied people. So Israel as the occupier has an obligation to withdraw, while the Palestinians have a legitimate right to resist the occupation, including by armed means, to restore to themselves the right to self-determination.

Being a non-member state, Palestine will be an occupied state, Israel will still have an obligation to end their occupation of the Palestinian state, and the Palestinians will still have a legitimate right to defend their state, including by armed means.

If they were a full member state, which was what they attempted a year ago, they would also have a right to call on other UN member states, to send armed forces to assist them to eject Israel from their country.

The resolution of the General Assembly will not change anything on the ground. Israel and the Palestinians will eventually negotiate between themselves and reach an agreement, or no, regardless of what is being decided in New York. This is a big PR and propaganda show with no real value.

And I am happy to see that Hezbollah, a terror organisation, and Nasrallah, have found a new mouthpiece in RCGroups. As long as he stays hidden in his bunker, as he has done for the last years,keeps on talking and does not attack Israel, he has nothing to fear.

BTW Dusty, I am still waiting for you to address the questions from a few posts above, if you have answers.

As it is, the Palestinians are an occupied people. So Israel as the occupier has an obligation to withdraw, while the Palestinians have a legitimate right to resist the occupation, including by armed means, to restore to themselves the right to self-determination.

Being a non-member state, Palestine will be an occupied state, Israel will still have an obligation to end their occupation of the Palestinian state, and the Palestinians will still have a legitimate right to defend their state, including by armed means.

If they were a full member state, which was what they attempted a year ago, they would also have a right to call on other UN member states, to send armed forces to assist them to eject Israel from their country.

Dusty

By the same token, Israel has the right to defend itself by armed means, and as a full member state to call on other UN members to assist it, in case of attacks like the one from Gaza, which Israel does not occupy.